R J Murdoch's Finchie and The Makings of Murder now available as an e-book

 Finchie and The Makings of Murder now available as an e-book on Amazon

R J Murdoch (Author) 

Meet Finchie, a talented artist and athlete, but with little ambition. He lives on the fringe of social respectability and has settled for a quiet life producing paintings of the remote Australian outback. But when he accidentally kills a man in the Gibson desert, he is caught up in a series of crimes and escapades that span the country from the tropical north to the rural countryside of the south. The plot unfolds over four interwoven yarns which combine, ultimately, into a final, gripping showdown.

Told by Finchie himself with his artist’s eye for the landscape and the times, the cast of lovable and loathsome characters will fire your imagination, and the liberal dose of wry Aussie humour makes this rural noir a compelling, page-turning novel.

Reviews:

The author has the gift of narrative and plot. Amazingly confident and nimble – it just swaggers along and sweeps the reader with it – a great contribution to Australian noir. Finchie is a fully-drawn character, and the smart-arsenal of jokes is excellent, wry, Australian all the way through. Helen Elliott, literary journalist and writer; reviewer for major Australian publications.

I enjoyed the fiendishly clever and satisfying plot. I relished the lively use of similes and metaphor and found its denouement entirely satisfying. Finchie reminded of one of my favourite Australian fictional crime solvers, Murray Whelan (author Shane Maloney). Dr Euan Mitchell. PhD - Arts - Commercial and Creative writing. Author; lecturer; publisher; mentor to new and emerging writers; award winning script writer.

If I were 30 years younger, playing Finchie in a TV series would be a gig to die for – no actor in their right mind would turn it down – it’s that good. Kenneth Radley. Credits: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Men Tell No Tales; The Year of the Dog; The New Boy, and multiple TV roles.

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Finchie launch a great success

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Finchie and The Makings of Murder was launched at The Taproom, Shedshaker Brewing in Castlemaine on Monday November 21st 2022, with a special guest appearance by Sir Leslie Thornton, Castlemaine's very own titled dignitary. Following Sir Leslie's warm-up to an appreciative crowd of well-fed and lubricated literature lovers, actor and past resident of this arty town, Kenneth Radley, led the conversation with the author, and added lively readings selected from the novel. A flurry of book sales and signings capped off an entertaining evening.

Photo: The author answers a question from the floor while Radley prepares for his next reading.

Finchie and the Makings of Murder adds a new voice to Australian noir. Told by Finchie himself, with a liberal dose of wry humour, the story unfolds over four interlocking yarns. After Finchie accidently kills a man in self defence, he is swept up in a chain of crimes and adventures that lead, step by step, to a fateful end. You'll meet a cast of loveable and loathsome characters as Finchie  fights, fudges and romances his way through a web of blackmail, forgery, theft and murder. 

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Launch and book signing, Castlemaine, Victoria.

Change of date: 

The launch of Finchie and The Makings of Murder by R J Murdoch, previously scheduled  for Monday the 14th November, at The Tap Room, Castlemaine has been rescheduled to Monday 21st November at 6.30pm. Apologies to anyone who has been inconvenienced. Blame the weather! Actor Kenneth Radley, who will be in conversation with the author, is currently engaged on a film with Cate Blanchett and, due to flooding at the location, his new schedule clashes with the original date. 

Finchie is a picaresque novel, set against the broad Australian landscape. It unfolds over four interlocking yarns, with misadventure, murder and cunning schemes wrapped around a cast of choice characters, some of whom make it to the end.

This is the first of a planned trio of Finchie novels, covering his life on the edge of social respectability from the 1970's. Important supporting characters will be carried through the series with new characters coming and going in various, and often unfortunate, ways. Wry, Australian humour is a strong feature. 

 Signed copies of the book will be available at the event.